Safety feeding attachment for clothes wringers



Nov. M, 11939. J. DOUGHERTY. SR

SAFETY FEEDING ATTACHMENT FOR CLOTHES WRINGERS Filed May 2, 1938 2Sheets-Sheet 1 meberf ow. M, 193%. J. DOUGHERTY. SR

SAFETY FEEDING ATTACHMENT FOR CLOTHES WRINGERS Filed May 2, 1938 2SheetsSheet 2 Patented Nov. 14, 1939 UNITED STATES SAFETY FEEDINGCLOTHES ATTACHMENT FOR WBJNGER-S John Dougherty, Sr., Philadelphia, Pa.

Application May 2, 1938, Serial No. 205,594

Claims.

This invention relates to clothes wringers and more particularly to asafety feeding attachment therefor.

The object of the invention is to provide a 5 safety attachment ofsimple and inexpensive construction capable of being quickly attached toany style or type of clothes wringer and which will effectually preventa person from mashing or otherwise injuring his or her fingers whenfeeding clothes between the wringer rollers.

A further object of the invention is to provide a safety attachmentcomprising spaced supporting brackets adapted to be positioned on one orboth sides of the wringer rollers and in which are mounted for rotationauxiliary rollers carrying an endless feed belt for conveying theclothes to the wringer rollers.

A further object is to construct the feed belt or conveyer in aplurality of sections separated by spacing members, means being providedfor adjusting the belt rollers within the supporting brackets toregulate the tension of said feed belt.

A further object is to provide the supporting brackets with terminalchannel guides adapted to fit over the clinch guard or vertical flangeon the wringer frame, said brackets being adjustable vertically of theguard or flange and held in adjusted position by clamping membersmounted on said supporting brackets.

A still further object of the invention is generally to improve thisclass of devices so as to increase their utility, durability andefficiency.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification and inwhich similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in allthe figures of the drawings:

Figure l is a front elevation of a combined washing machine and wringershowing my improved safety feeding attachment in position on the wringerframe,

Figure 2 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 22 of Figure1, the conveyer belt and its associated parts being shown in elevation,

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1,

Figure 4 is a detail perspective view of one of the supporting bracketsdetached, and

Figure 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of one of the feed beltrollers.

50 The improved safety attachment forming the subject-matter of thepresent invention may be used in connection with any style or type ofwashing machine, and by way of illustration is shown in connection witha washing machine of 55 standard construction in which 5 designates thebody of the machine and 6 the vertical post or standard supporting thewringer I, the latter being provided with the usual wringer rollers,indicated at B. The wringer rollers 8 are journaled in the wringer framein the usual manner 5 and extending inwardly from the wringer frame onopposite sides thereof are vertically disposed clinch guards or flanges9 which serve to prevent the clothes from coming in contact with theJournals of the wringer rollers. 10

The attachment comprises oppositely disposed sets or pairs of supportingbrackets Ill, each having its inner end bent laterally to form guidechannels II which fit over and receive the adjacent vertical flanges orguards 9 and are ad- 15 justable vertically thereon, as shown, saidbrackets being retained in adjusted position by means of clamping boltsl2 extending through openings l3 in the brackets and provided with wingnuts 14. Interposed between the wing nuts and brackets iii are washersl5 which bear against the outer faces of the brackets and the adjacentfaces of the vertical guard flanges 9 so that by tightening the wingnuts I4 said brackets will be securely clamped in a set position. Thebrackets are provided with longitudinal slots l6 opening through thelower edges thereof, as indicated at H, and fitted in said slots arerods l8 having feed rol1ers l9 mounted for rotation thereon, as shown.Each feed roller 19 comprises a tubular member 20 loosely mounted on theadjacent rod l8 and around which extend yieldable sleeves 2| preferablyformed of rubber, as shown. Disposed at spaced intervals on the tubularmembers 20 .and interposed between the yieldable sleeves 2! are spacingmembers preferably in the form of circular disks 22 and extending aroundthe rollers and disposed between the spacing disks 22 are a plurality ofendless conveyers 23 for feeding clothes from either side of the wringerbetween the wringer rollers thereof. The feed belts 23 may be formed ofrubber, canvas or other suitable material and may be either endless ormade in sections with their adjacent ends united as desired, the purposeof said belts being to direct and deliver the clothes to the wringerrollers, as previously stated. The opposite ends of the tubular members20 are upset and flattened against the adjacent supporting disks, asindicated at 25, and inasmuch as the yieldable sleeves 2| and spacingdisks 22 are mounted on the tubular members 22, all of said parts willrotate as a unit on the rods Hi. If desired, however, instead ofupsetting the metal at the ends of the tubular members 20, suitable keysor cotter pins may be employed for engagement with the adjacent spacingmembers. The ends of the rods it are threaded at and extend through theslots l6 and are provided with inner and outer clamping nuts 26 whichbear against the brackets. By loosening the clamping nuts 26' andadjusting the rods l8 longitudinally within the slots l6 of thebrackets, the tension of the feed belts may be adjusted at will andafter the desired adjustment has been effected tightening of the nuts 26will securely hold the rollers in adjusted position. In order to removethe rollers I! from the supporting brackets to repair or replace any ofthe feed belts, it is merely necessary to loosen the clamping nuts 26and move the threaded ends of the rods l8 inwardly of the brackets Illuntil the threaded ends of the rods register with the openings II whenthe rollers tioned over the clinch guards or flanges 9 and adjustedvertically thereon until the upper reaches of the feed belts assume thedesired inclination, after which the wing nuts ll are adjusted to clampsaid brackets in set position. The threaded ends of the rods l8 are thenintroduced within the supporting brackets through the openings Iltherein and adjusted longitudinally of the brackets until the desiredtension is imparted to the feed belts and in which position they will beretained by tightening the clamping nuts 26, as previously stated.

It will here be noted that the feed belts are disposed on opposite sidesof the wringer frame and are inclined upwardly in the direction of thewringer rollers 8 so that handkerchiefs, napkins, hosiery and otherarticles after being washed will be directed by the feed belts upwardlybetween the wringer rollers 8 without danger of mashing or otherwiseinjuring the fingers or hand of the operator. Where clothes are feddirectly between the wringer rollers, it often happens that the fingersof a person are drawn between the rollers with the article being fed tothe wringer with the result that a persons hands or fingers are injuredand this cannot occur with the present invention as it is merelynecessary to rest the articles on the feed belt when they will bedirected between the wringer rollers without any further attention onthe part of the operator. Inasmuch as the upper stretches of the feedbelts are interposed between and contact with the wringer rollers 8,rotation of the wringer rollers will impart a corresponding movement tothe feed belts. Where the device is applied to clothes wringers notprovided with the present vertical clinch guards or flanges 9, thesupporting brackets in may be secured in any suitable manner to anydesired portion of the wringer frame. While I have shown and described apair of supporting brackets on each side of the wringer frame, it will,of course, be understood that said brackets may be attached to one sideof the frame only without departing from the spirit of the inven tion.

It will also be understood that the devices may be made in differentsizes and shapes and provided with any desired number of feed beltswithout departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. The combination with a clothes wringer including wringer rollers andvertical guard flanges, of supporting brackets detachably mounted forvertical adjustment on the guard flanges, an auxiliary roller supportedin the brackets and movable therewith, a feed belt extending between thewringer rollers and around said auxiliary roller, and means foradjusting the auxiliary roller longitudinally of the brackets toregulate the tension of the feed belt.

2. The combination with a clothes wringer including a frame and wringerrollers mounted mounted for rotation on the rod, a feed belt extendingbetween the wringer rollers and around the said auxiliary roller, andclamping nuts engaging the threaded ends of the rods and bearing againstthe adjacent faces of the supporting brackets. 3. The combination with aclothes wringer including wringer rollers and vertical guard flanges, ofsupporting brackets mounted for vertical adjustment 0n the guard flangesand provided with channel portions receiving said guard flanges,

bolts extending through the brackets, wing nuts engaging the bolts andbearing against the brackets and guard fianges for holding said bracketsin adjusted position, auxiliary rollers supported in the brackets, and afeed belt extending between the wringer rollers and around the auxiliaryrollers and inclined downwardly in opposite directions from said wringerrollers.

4. An attachment for clothes wringers comprising supporting brackets forattachment to the frame of a clothes wringer, said brackets being formedwith longitudinally disposed slots opening through the lower edges ofthe brackets, means for clamping the brackets in different positions ofvertical adjustment on the frame of a wringer, rollers supported in theslots of said brackets, and a feed belt fitting around the rollers.

5. A safety attachment for clothes wringers comprising supportingbrackets each having its inner end bent to form a channel guide memberand its outer end provided with a longitudinal

